Port of Spain (Trinidad): The West Indies Cricket Board has cleared its batting star Brian Lara of charges of involvement in match-fixing following allegations made by Indian investigators two years ago.
A statement released on Monday by the WICB said an internal investigation carried out by Barbadian attorney-at-law Elliott Mottley found no evidence to support the allegations made against Lara. Lara and other players including England's Alec Stewart and India's Mohammed Azharuddin were accused of taking money from bookmakers in return for pre-match information. The allegations were contained in a report by India's Central Bureau of Investigation released in November 2000. Rev Wes Hall, president of the West Indies Cricket Board, said, "Mr Mottley's investigation on behalf of the West Indies Cricket Board has indicated that the allegations made against Brian were unfounded and not supported by any evidence. "We now consider that this matter is hereby officially closed. We wrote to Brian's lawyers informing them that the matter is officially closed and that the allegations made against him were unfounded." The WICB has also submitted its report to the International Cricket Council. In the course of the probe, commissioned in April last year, Mottley conducted personal interviews with several people including Lara and visited the ICC's Anti- Corruption Unit for discussions with its head Paul Condon and his staff.
Extras:
Thatscricket Special: Match-fixing saga
Thatscricket Special: Match-fixing reports
Tags: cricket, port of spain, trinidad, west indies board, batting star brian lara, charges, involvement in match-fixing, allegations, indian investigators, internal investigation, found no evidence, england's alec stewart, mohammed azharuddin, money, bookmakers, pre-match information, wes hall, president, officially closed, lawyers, commissioned, conducted personal interviews.
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